Japanese-inspired recipes ideal for varying your diet

In the last few days I have been searching for recipes that advocate for simplicity in their preparation and only require a small amount of ingredients. After some thought, it became apparent that there does not exist a cuisine more representative of this philosophy than japanese food. Of course the differences in ingredients, techniques and tools of Japanese cuisine are very different from my culture, so the recipes I am going to propose to you are adapted in technique, ingredients to western taste. I hope this does not make them any less fun, because for me they were very fun to make indeed. I also hope these recipes help to cleanse your palate after the large amount of food that we all ate while enjoying the Christmas festivities.

It would be very interesting if you could share your experiences with not only the recipes proposed here, but your overall experience with Japanese food and your favorite dishes in the comments section. In my case, my favourites are the recipes with tempura (especially vegetables because they are crunchy) as well as the classic: sushi. I cannot deny that their pastas, such as the udon noodle, are irresistible. Every corner of the planet guards its very particular and unique cultural treasures! Until the next time, enjoy the recipes.

Vegetable Tempura

Ingredients:

For batter:

•  1 Carrot
• 1 Eggplant
• 1 cup Green beans
• 1 ½ cup button. Mushrooms
• ½ pc. Onion
• 1 pc. Courgette (Zucchini)
• 1 Pepper

For the Tempura dough:

• 450 ml Cold water
• 300 g Flour
• 2 Egg Yolks
• 1 tsp. Cornstarch
• Vegetable oil (sufficient amount)

Preparation

1. Peel and chop carrots diagonally or into sticks, ensuring that they are roughly bite-sized.

2. Cut the eggplant into slices or crescents and set aside.

3. Slice the onion into thick slices; Remove the two ends of the peppers, as well as the seeds, then cut long ways to fully open the pepper and cut into sticks like the carrot.

4. The mushrooms and green beans can be left as they are: It is only necessary to cut off the end of the green beans and make sure that the mushrooms have been thoroughly cleaned. You can cut both in half if desired.

5. In order to prepare the tempura dough, you must first beat the egg yolks with water in a deep bowl. It is important that the water is very cold - If necessary add a few ice cubes.

6. Sift the flour and starch, add to the egg mixture and water; gradually beat until all of the ingredients are incorporated together. It is important that the dough is whisked a lot.

7. If the dough is too runny, add a little more flour. If it is too thick add a little cold water and mix until incorporated.

8. Heat the oil in a deep pot or pan. (I used a small pot to avoid using too much oil).

9. Pass the vegetables one by one through the prepared tempura dough and place in the hot oil. Let it fry for a minute or a maximum of three minutes until the dough is crispy – it should not  be too golden in color.

10. Transfer to a rack or a plate and place on top of some paper towels to remove the excess oil.

11. Serve accompanied with special tempura sauce or just with plain soy sauce.

Curried Pork with Aubergine (Eggplant)

Ingredients:

• 800 g Pork Meat
• 1 tbsp. Oil
• 1 piece of Ginger
• 2 cloves garlic.
• 1/2 an Onion
• 1 Carrot
• 1 Aubergine (Eggplant)
• 3 cups of Water
• ½ cup of Curry sauce
• 1 tbsp. Soy sauce
• Salt and pepper (Sufficient amount)

Preparation:

1. Chop the garlic finely and grate the ginger until it resembles a very fine puree.

2. Chop the meat into cubes or chunks and set aside.

3. Chop the aubergine (eggplant) into cubes and place in a container with water and a little salt to avoid a bitter taste.

4. Finely chop the onion and carrot and set aside like the rest of the vegetables.

5. Once you have everything chopped, heat the oil in a deep pan and saute the garlic and ginger; Next add the carrot and onion and continue to saute until the onion becomes translucent.

6. Drain the aubergine (eggplant) and add to the stew. Saute until tender.

7. Add the meat and season with salt and pepper.

8. Add water and let it simmer for about 30 minutes or until the meat is cooked.

9. Remove from the heat and add the curry sauce, soy sauce and mix well until you have a thick sauce. Simmer over a low heat for about 15 minutes.

10. Serve with white rice.

Coffee Jelly

Ingredients:

• 1 can condensed milk
• 1 can evaporated milk
• 20 g Gelatine
• ½ cup of Sugar
• 4 tbsp. soluble coffee
• 1 l Water
• ½ cup of Milk

Preparation:

1. To prepare the coffee jelly first you must hydrate the gelatin with half a cup of water, stirring until lumps disappear. Leave to stand until fluffy.

2. Heat 3 cups of water and bring to the boil. Add coffee and stir.

3. Add sugar and mix well.

4. Add the gelatin and coffee liquid in to the water. Add the remaining water and place in a rectangular mold.

5. Refrigerate for about 2 hours until firm. Cut into cubes.

6. Blend the condensed milk and evaporated milk until they represent a sauce consistency.

7. Serve the coffee cubes with a little of the prepared milk sauce.